The next adventure has started. After spending some time in our old stomping grounds it was time to move on to warmer temperatures.
On Friday, the 20th, we pulled anchor and started off. The day was going to be a motoring day. We motored out of the creek, down the Neuse River to Adams Creek to follow the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) to Morehead City. At Morehead City we pulled into the Yacht Basin and topped off our fuel and water tanks. From there we moved out into the turning basin and anchored near the Coast Guard Station. From here we were staged for an early exit in the morning. Morning came early when we were getting rocked by the fishing boats heading out of Beaufort Inlet. We pulled anchor and headed out. There was no wind so we set course to go around Frying Pan Shoals and motored on. Just before midnight as we cleared the shoals we had enough wind to sail. Later in the morning the wind died and we were back to motoring. This continued the entire trip. The wind would die and later come up from a slightly different direction. During the first night we watched the lightning flashes in a storm out in the Gulf Stream. At one point we even tried flying the spinnaker but it would collapse when the boat rolled. Eventually the winds settled at about 10 knots from behind and we were able to keep sailing but only at about 4 knots. This wasn't a problem since we had decided to sail to St Augustine and if we picked up any more speed we would arrive at night. Arriving at night is dangerous and we try to avoid it whenever we can. Monday at sunset we were treated to one of the most spectacular green flashes we had ever seen. Yes, green flashes do exist. The effect is caused when you have just the right atmospheric conditions just as the last of the sun goes below the horizon. It is usually quick and can be missed if you blink. This time due to the rolling we were treated to an extended flash. Tuesday morning we approached St Augustine and were glad we had not pushed it and arrived in the dark. The harbor entrance is not as well marked as it was in the past and our charts are not accurate. Once into the harbor we maneuvered to the anchorage near the old fort and dropped anchor at noon. It was a 393 mile passage in 77 hours.
We have been hanging out in St Augustine taking care of some projects and maintenance. We know a mechanic in the area who has done some work on the boat in the past and we scheduled some time for him to check out the engine and drive train since it had been some time since they had been looked at. We took the opportunity to spend a couple of days in a marina, something we seldom do. It gave us a chance to give the batteries a good deep charge and run an equalize cycle on them and change out the fluids in the engine, transmission and v-drive. I wanted to be at a dock while doing these things in case something went wrong. I have this fear of having the engine out of commission and the anchor start dragging or for some reason we need to move and can't. Cori did some sail repair and sorting and reorganizing on the boat. Once that was all complete we moved back out to the anchorage.
Now we are waiting for a good weather window to move down the coast. We could take the ICW but it would mean we have to motor and would be a longer trip having to find a place to stop each night.
We have come to the conclusion that we will be skipping the Bahamas this season unless the Covid restrictions are lifted. It looks like we will be exploring Florida, the Keys and the Florida west coast this year. The west coast has been a place we have wanted to explore and this year it seems like a logical choise.
